Summer travel is experiencing high demand, so tourists need to be cautious.

A few months before the peak summer travel season, many travel companies simultaneously launched hundreds of domestic tours to capitalize on the market's recovery. Tourism businesses are striving to stabilize product and service prices amidst rising input costs.

Domestic tourism situation in summer 2022

According to Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Director of Marketing at Vietravel Tourism Company, the number of customers registering for domestic tours during the summer has already reached 65% of the plan. Popular destinations include Phu Quoc, Da Nang - Hoi An - Hue - Quang Binh, Hanoi - Sa Pa - Ninh Binh - Ha Long, Quy Nhon - Phu Yen, Da Lat, etc.

"Compared to the pre-pandemic period in 2019, this summer's customer base has reached approximately 80%, primarily domestic. However, despite rising fuel prices, the company is still striving to maintain stable tour prices," Ms. Van Khanh shared. Furthermore, thanks to its own airline, Vietravel Airlines, the company is fully capable of offering comprehensive air travel packages.

Saigontourist Travel Service Company expects to serve more than 280,000 tourists this summer. According to Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Director of Marketing and Communications, this number is subject to change and could increase by 10%-15%.

"As expected, purchasing power and the number of tourists have both increased significantly, with the highest numbers in Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Quy Nhon - Phu Yen, Ha Long… Domestic tourism alone saw an increase of nearly 10% compared to 2019, although the total number of domestic, foreign, and international tourists has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels," Ms. Thanh Tra said.

According to surveys, summer tour prices on some popular routes have increased slightly by 5%-7%. For other routes, most travel companies, transportation providers, accommodation providers, and tour operators are coordinating to maintain stable prices. As of the end of Q2/2022, Fiditour - Vietluxtour had achieved approximately 60%-70% of its summer business plan. If the situation continues to be favorable, the company will expand its plan.

"Tourism is booming in the domestic market this summer. According to statistics from Flamingo Redtours, the number of domestic tourists this summer has increased by 300% compared to 2019 (before the pandemic). For resorts in the system, room occupancy has reached 90% on weekdays, and the number of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourists has increased by about 500% compared to before the pandemic," said Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy General Director of Flamingo Holding Group.

Beware of scams.

Regarding the recent surge in scams involving cheap tours and travel vouchers, Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications and Marketing at TST Tourist, stated that in the context of rising fuel and input costs, maintaining stable or slightly increasing tour prices is already a significant effort by businesses, so there is no longer any question of drastically reducing prices to stimulate tourism as before.

"Because tour costs have increased due to rising fuel and airfare prices, tourists tend to travel independently. However, with all destinations crowded, independent travel is quite risky for tourists because they might arrive but not be able to book services or could be scammed, as cheap prices are impossible at the moment," Mr. Minh Man said.

Another major headache for those in the tourism industry is maintaining service quality and preventing price gouging, overcrowding, and other problems at tourist destinations. In reality, there have been numerous cases of tourists complaining about inflated prices, overcharging, or poor service quality, which has tarnished the image of the tourism sector.

For example, in Nha Trang City (Khanh Hoa province), the People's Committee recently fined Ngoc Phu restaurant (Vinh Nguyen ward) 21 million VND after a tourist accused it of overcharging 600,000 VND for three portions of beef stir-fried noodles. Mr. Phan Thanh Liem, Vice Chairman of the Nha Trang City People's Committee, affirmed that the city government is always committed to building Nha Trang into a high-quality, safe, secure, civilized, and friendly tourist destination.

"Any incident that negatively impacts the Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa tourism brand will be investigated and dealt with. The recent heavy penalties imposed on Ngoc Phu restaurant, as well as some previous violations, are proof of this," Mr. Liem stated.

In Ca Mau, Mr. Tran Hieu Hung, Director of the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, affirmed that so far the department has not received any complaints from tourists about price gouging. This is because "price listing - selling at the listed price" is one of the mandatory regulations that tourism service establishments in the area must comply with.

Anh Thi